25 Common Dreams and Their Meanings

Human beings have been trying to figure out the meaning of their dreams probably for as long as humankind has existed. The need to make sense of our lives is as human as dreaming is, and dreaming represents an important part of our lives — we do it every single night! Some of the earliest recorded attempts to interpret dreams are from Ancient Babylon, Greece and Egypt. In those ancient societies, dreams were considered a sacred communication with the divine that could deliver omens of the future.

Thousands of years later, psychologists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung interpreted dreams based on the theory that dreams are a depiction of our unconscious fears and desires. Some modern scientists who have tackled the subject of dream interpretation argue that dreams exist to aid our survival. These researchers theorize that dreams act as a “threat rehearsal” wherein we can confront primal threats, such as threats to our life or status, so that we can better confront these challenges in real life. Read on to discover the meanings of the most common dreams, as defined by today’s top dream experts. Keep in mind that dream interpretation is pretty subjective, so different experts may interpret the same dream in different ways.

1. Spiders

As spiders weave intricate webs to catch unsuspecting prey, dreaming about spiders can indicate that the dreamer is being manipulated or is manipulating a situation or person herself, according to Cynthia Richmond, a behavioral therapist and dream expert who has appeared on Oprah. If the spider is poisonous, this may mean that the dreamer is concerned about some especially venomous, or even deadly force, says Richmond. However, if the dreamer is afraid of spiders in his/her waking life, a dream of spiders has a different meaning: he/she needs to come to terms with and overcome this phobia. According to dreammoods.com, a comprehensive online dream dictionary, dreaming about bugs in general can also represent something that is “bugging” or scaring you.

2. Being Chased

Being chased in a dream is typically your subconscious mind telling you that you’re avoiding a painful or frightening emotion, person or issue, according to Richard Nicoletti, J.D., a psychotherapist at the Jung Institute. Says Nicoletti, in dreams about being chased, the context also is important, i.e., who or what is chasing you. Lauri Loewenberg, author of So What Did You Dream Last Night? and founder of thedreamzone.com, says that you need to confront the threatening situation in real life in order to stop having such dreams.

3. Being Naked in Public

A very common dream, being naked in public represents feeling vulnerable or exposed. According to Keith Stevens, author of The Dreamer and the Beast – How Dreams Exercise Our Primal Instincts and one of the pioneers of the “threat rehearsal” theory of dream interpretation, in primitive terms, being naked in public puts you at a disadvantage – you have nowhere to hide a weapon, for example. Thus, such dreams provide the benefit of stimulating your instinct to not let yourself get into disadvantageous positions. In a more figurative sense, dreaming of public nudity could represent exposing yourself emotionally, e.g., revealing a potentially damaging personal secret.

4. Losing Your Teeth

From an evolutionary standpoint, teeth are important for survival (you need them to eat) and reproduction (you need a decent set of chompers to attract a good mate). Accordingly, dreaming about losing your teeth exercises your instincts to protect yourself and your appearance, says Keith Stevens. On a more symbolic level, teeth represent how powerful and confident you feel, according to psychologist and dream interpreter Ian Wallace. Therefore, losing your teeth in a dream could represent a waking-life situation that is eroding your confidence.

5. Falling

It is a myth that you will die in real life if you dream about falling and hitting the ground. However, a “falling” dream could mean things in your life aren’t going so great. Lauri Loewenberg interprets this type of dream as your subconscious mind sending out a red flag that something in your life is moving rapidly in the wrong direction. This could be your relationship, career, finances or something else. These dreams are also common among people with depression, says Loewenberg. A more literal dream interpretation from Keith Stevens says that this “natural element threat” dream activates your survival instinct to be wary of heights.

great article as usual ive experienced some of these dreamss at a certain point in my childhood life, now that im a teen all i dream of is sex lol :p

http://www.peoplequotes.org/ Hemendra Kumar Saini

i do have celeb dream and a annoying dream needle being inserted in my eye.

http://www.technogram.org/ Hemendra Kumar Saini

i do have dream of needle pinching in my eye but not one of them.

Desiree

*Also have heard that dreaming of losing your teeth represents the loss of money or the fear of losing money. Never quite made the connection but thought it was interesting. Love the post!

suzy Q

Not really, it means your gonna lose a relative or your parents might die… I dreamed loosing my teeth many times and i lost my grandma and 2 friends… You lose money when you dream of finding silver coins like twenty five cents

Chiara Fucarino

Sorry, but I have to disagree. I think that dreaming about losing teeth can mean so many things. It could stem from the fear of losing money, family members, or anything else one couldn’t live without. As for me, it’s kind of silly. I had braces for 5 years, and after I had them taken off, I was in constant fear of losing my teeth or screwing them up somehow (because that’d mean five years and thousands of dollars down the drain). I had those dreams frequently.

zack randall

suzy q was right if your dream about losing teeth it means your beloved someone will pass away…it is true proven and tested therefore if you dream losing teeth again all you have to do is PRAY for your love ones..

lola

I have never had a dream about falling, yet they say it is the most common type. I actually had a dream about losing teeth the other night though.

Cameron

I am a heavy lucid dreamer. I first started when I was a kid, I found out a way to wake myself on demand but now I have full control now. For example when Im up high in a dream, like a cliff or a building and i am scared of falling off, I all of a sudden figure out I’m dreaming, so I jump and keep falling and without waking up until I hit the floor, but the weird this is I land on my feet and carry on in the dream. As a matter of fact I can do this in all dream circumstances. I take what I want, go where I want and pretty much do what I want to do as if I were invincible! Is there some sort of reason for this? Am I the only one? Please help me. I would love to know the reason why I can do this. Thank you.

I awake when I can’t explain a situation, or move a limb the problem becomes confounding and annoying and wakes me. Acceptance of the impossible, must be the answer.

http://www.facebook.com/geofrey.wankalubo.1 Geofrey Wankalubo

I hate bad dreams.

Maria

I have many dreams , but then again as pshycotheripist describe me as a astral dreamer, people say my dreams are very unique and mean something very special …..

Maria

If a psychotherapist describes you as an astral dreamer then they are taking the p*ss out of you. Everyone thinks their dreams are unique and special, don’t get ahead of yourself.

cm

But the dream is very closely relates with your real life and perfectly indirectly, that you will understand afterwards .

nicky

nice

linda

I have dreams about my family and them dieing in my dreams or i am trying save
Then also i dream of children crying in my dreams and i can’t find them i wake my self
Up crying in a panic and can’t breath . My dreams seem so real

tom

i dream that i was having sex with a friend and woke up to see sperm in my shot what those that mean please

cm

that means many things but that is also a disease .You should go to doctor as soon you can NOR it will loose you in many times you did not even expected .
According to your dream with real life it means that you are going to fall ill in between those days .

Kalvo

or u could have a simple problem with a succibus or incibus

Petra cottontail

My friend needs this dream interpreted.She has a little boy(in the dream..she is childless) who has an obviously crippled leg.Her leg is also crippled.A handsome stranger offers to fly her to Philadelphia from Italy to try to get medical help. At a house they went to, there were hundreds of rabbits all around the grounds.What’s it mean?

little

I just finish reading a book called screwing in the dream otherwise called sex in the dream, by GOD ALMIGHTY. A powerful book that talked about having sex in the dream, the author talked about his own personal experience. His definition of dreams are different, heck the book out you will enjoy it.

CRIMSON

I dreamed that I swallowed a very long snake. Then I tried to pull it out of my mouth. With much difficulty at first but was eventually able to take out all of it which was many feet long. I woke up feeling so bad. Is it such a terrible dream? Thank you.

saniya

Many times i saw shit in my dreams what does it mean?

jeffen

Think of transformation – food into energy – waste product nutrient for the soil and cleanser of the body. You are the ultimate Transformer

Rowan

Dreams are so facinating, i’m doing a speech on them currently and am finding so much information that it will likely be very long, but definitly interesting.

Nico

Morning all i dream my girlfriend was walking hand in hand with a man and when she me she let go of the mans hand and carrys on walking

sue

my latest dream was a muddle – i had lots of money i couldn`t spend -a big house that every time i left i ended back in- words popped up that i couldn`t read because they contained on vowels – i was in an old peoples home but every door i used to get out led to a tiny garden – roads i couldn`t cross – buses where the drivers wouldn`t drive and a shop where i could`nt get served …..

Kirmani

Having everything but having nothing?

Ruth Fontanilla

i have a dream haveing a thrie stars uponme…….and the if moving upward…pls helpi dont know wats the meaning of that dreams……………….

zackey

what does it means when your dreams are opposite on what you think like i would like to run faster but i cant or i would like to jump but i cant jump

plsss help…….

mar

i dream a rode in the ship what in means?? anwser please !

stv

I had a dream last night I was halfway on a staircase at the bottom it was pitch black and there was a door I was looking down and got an instant chill I turned around and at the top of the stairs there was light and people as I started to go up I started getting warmer………any ideas????

Lisa

I dreamt I was enjoying a sensual bath with a colleague, leant forward to kiss him and woke up. What does it mean?

millicent

I had a dream that i was given a comb to comb my hair

sabrina

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bernadette

i don’t know how to explain this dream of mine, its like i am floating in the middle of nowhere and seing light and dark. its like i am fighting for something, in my mind while i’m sleeping i know that i am trying to wake up or open my eyes but it is very hard and feels heavy and i cannot move my body or even my toe. In my dream i am screaming but not sure if i ever screem while sleeping but it feels like i do. all i wanted to do is to open my eyes when i am having this kind of dream but i can’t do it ( i know that i am trying to but i can’t also move my body) i would like to know what this mean????

Queency

When my boyfriend left me for another woman all I could think about was getting him back. I was not out of the closet to my family and had lived a straight lifestyle my entire life until recently. My boyfriend cheated on me and moved out of my house when I was away at work. I came home to a letter that didn’t even make sense. I had a love spell cast by Ancientspiritualtemple@gmail.com and within three (3) days he was at my doorstep once again. I was so relieved!! Him coming back to me gave me the strength to tell my family about us and the time we spent apart really brought us closer together than we ever have been! I highly recommend his love spells because they work very well!

Mohandas Cg

I HAD A DREAM WHERE I SAW THE MOON IS BEING EATEN BY A SNAKE AND SUDDENTLY THERE IS DARKNESS EVERY WHERE

teribear

The devil is the image of the snake and he wants to devour that which reflects the sun (representing God and/or God’s love, which brings light to the world). Thus when the snake eats the moon, there is darkness everywhere. If there is a devil, you can bet he wants to destroy you and everyone. So I think we are the moon. Just my thoughts.

http://u-tax.co.uk/ Tim Kitchen

Hello Shannon your blog is really wonderful. Once I had a dream that I am sleeping on my bed and suddenly fall down from my bed does it also signifies depression or something going in wrong direction in my life?

This is a little different. My friend/coworker had a dream about us. Now normally I don’t really read into dreams that much, but I am attracted to her. Unfortunately she is already taken. Which makes work difficult.

Anyways she dreams that we are working together in our country of birth (were immigrants). I tell her to go look for something within our department of work and she gets lost and finally comes back to tell me she was unable to find it (can’t remember what “it” is, not sure if she tells me), and then she asks me to go look for it and I can’t find it either and we are both upset at each other. I guess i was more upset. We both attempt to go look for it and get lost together in the process. She tells me that she doesn’t understand why she asked me to look for the item or thing especially when i can’t read the language. She pretty much ends on the note that we were just lost. No resolution.

She brought up the dream randomly on the premise that I’m someone who doesn’t get upset easily, and she has this dream which is the opposite. Her outward attitude about it, was that she was slightly shocked and slightly amused. I didn’t think much of it, but it came back to me this morning about a week after she told me.

Just curious what it all means.

Guest

in my dreams i saw my husband having sex with another women.near of my side n my mom as well….i saw after sex he is getting colhes even i saw his organ…n he trying to avoid me..i was cried lots in my dreams… please please response me…..n please let me knw the meaning of my dream…m really stress of this dream…my husband is not that kind of man..he is very loyal n loving….how could i saw this…please reply me…i will be thankful….please…

garadis

my dream last night theres so many lices on my hair..and so itchy

Tiffany

i have dreams about needles in my eyes, being chased with a lighter, rapes, and being in the middle of burglarys and anything that involes a wepon, conflict, or death and tourture. once i had a dream my best friend (my dog lol) got stabed in the back wit a screw driver and suffered. i woke up screaming. im 13.

Sebernard

I had a dream about a spider coming after me. In real life I hate spiders but in the dream I got mad at the spider and hit it away then I woke up. I am just wondering what it means when you confront a spider in a dream and win the fight lol.

Robert Davis

I enjoy those dreams when i’m being chased by some giant robot and i need to run really fast. You may think this as a negative dream but it’s the best dream I can ever have. I have them nearly every night and its so fun because you can do parkour and stuff to run away. Why is this fun?

braina3455

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nathan

I actually dreamt about being naked but…Everyone didn’t notice that i was, they all thought i had clothes, They said i had clothes on so i acted normal but deep down inside i knew something was wrong…Could someone Answer my question to this dream?

Molly Stacey

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